About Us
“Plowman Chambers is no doubt the leading criminal set in Hong Kong”.
- Legal 500,2023
Our members have consistently been instructed in numerous high profile and landmark cases over the years, with both Senior and Junior Counsel ranked highly by Legal 500, Chambers and Partners, and Doyle’s respectively. Our members have expertise across a wide spectrum of practice areas, and can be instructed as individuals or a team, depending on the nature of each case.
Plowman Chambers currently has 43 members, including five Senior Counsel.
Origins
Established in 1982 by Gilbert Rodway QC, chambers made its mark with three other founding members - Anthony Corrigan QC, Ian Payne and Valerie Penlington. It was then known as the Chambers of Gilbert Rodway QC and located at Hang Chong Building.
Gilbert Rodway QC specialized in Family Law, but he also enjoyed a mixed practice, frequently taking on civil as well as criminal cases. Anthony Corrigan, on the other hand, was a renowned and successful criminal law advocate.
Gary Plowman joined chambers in June 1984, after spending six years as a prosecutor for the Hong Kong Government. It was not long before he made a name in criminal law. In 1993, Gary Plowman was appointed Queen's Counsel. Four years later, upon becoming head of chambers, chambers came to be known as the Chambers of Gary Plowman SC. That name was later shortened to Plowman Chambers. In 2019, Peter Duncan SC became the Head of Chambers, he was then succeeded by Derek Chan SC since December 2022 until now.
Appointments & Former Members
In addition to their legal practice, members of chambers have an established tradition of judicial and public appointments. Two of our current silks previously served as Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions, with other members regularly act as chairmen or members of statutory tribunals.
Former members of chambers include:
Court of Appeal
The Honourable Mr. Justice Michael Lunn VP (retired)
The Honourable Mr. Justice Andrew Macrae VP
Court of First Instance
The Honourable Mr. Justice Andrew Chan
The Honourable Mr. Justice Keith Yeung (who previously served as the Director of Public Prosecutions and was the first person of Chinese nationality to be appointed to the position)
The Honourable Madam Justice Anna Lai, who served as Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions
Senior Counsel and Queen’s Counsel
Anthony Corrigan, QC
Gary Plowman, QC
Daniel Marash, SC
Peter Duncan, SC
David Pilbrow, SC
Adrian Bell, SC
